Law Commons^™

The New Novelty: Defining The Content Of “Otherwise Available To The Public”, Caroline A. Schneider

Journal of Legislation

The "Leahy-Smith America Invents Act" (America Invents Act) was enacted on September 16, 2011.1 The purpose of the Act was to provide greater harmony between the U.S. patent system and patent systems of our international trading partners.2 A patent gives an inventor a monopoly in the issuing country to make, use, and sell the invention for a limited term in exchange for the disclosure of how to make and use the invention. In the United States, the granting of monopolies for limited terms is justified mainly on utilitarian grounds. The patent system is seen as the best way to incentivize …